But don't expect that to be the case with North Coast's under-23 side when they kick off their country championship campaign at the end of February.

While the free-flowing playbook won't be thrown completely out the window, Shipway is focused on making the Bulldogs a more complete side with the ability to stop points as well as they score them.

"With the talent we've got in the side we should be able to score points easily enough," he said.

"If we can get a good defensive structure in there and limit the opposition to a try in each half or even three tries (in the match) it's probably good enough to win most games."

The coach knows having players such as Mitch Wilbow (Port Macquarie), Conrad Lardner (Macleay Valley), Dylan Collett (Grafton) and Sam Shields (Macksville) at their disposal means scoring points won't be an issue.

Oscar Carey (Taree), Jordan Haywood (Sawtell) and Jesse Douglas (Port City) will lead the way in defence.

"We're looking to limit the amount of points that we leak and have already done a fair bit of contact stuff to let the boys know of the standards we expect," Shipway said.

"A couple of guys are travelling two and a half hours from Grafton and we're asking them to bash each other up a bit at training and no one has held back."

The result was a few head knocks before Christmas, but Shipway said that indicated the effort was there.

North Coast return to the training paddock next Sunday as they continue preparations for a trial match against Canterbury at Forster on February 8.

The fixture will provide an opportunity for players to rise to the occasion while the coaching staff know others may also be daunted by the prospect.

But they felt it would be a learning curve.

"We don't want to get schooled by the Bulldogs, but it's definitely going to be an eye-opener for some of the guys," Shipway said.

"The stuff we're trying to teach them is what the Bulldogs are going to be really good at and that's what we want to show them.

"That level is where we want to be at going into our first competition round."

The 25-man squad will be cut to 18 or 20 over coming weeks.

A commitment to working hard will be the key factor when coaches sit down to discuss who they want in the final squad.

"We want to see guys that are up for the game, not ones that turn up because they want to take home a Bulldogs jersey at the end of the campaign," Shipway said.

"We want to see guys there that potentially want to go to the next level, test themselves at that level and look to improve every round of the competition."

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